ConGRADulations

Woop woop! I graduate next Friday - Check this 11/11/11! Cool eh? As cool as the date may be, I'm having a few wardrobe issues. Do I play it safe and opt for a smart black workwear dress...or do I try to jazz it up a bit and go for brights. I think the latter is my preferred option,  have you seen that ugly gown we have to wear?!

I've seen the most amazing shoes though from Dune - leopard print courts. However at £80 I might have to put that dream on hold. It's OK though I've seen a second pair in Topshop for a fraction of the price...£65. Clothing aside I'm also having a mare with my make-up look I want to go for on the day.

I need a foundation that will stay put for the whole day but I don't want it to look like I'm wearing a lot of make-up. Think I'll stick to my trusty Barry M coral lipstick to brighten the place up though. In the days up to graduation I'll be testing a number of different foundations for the big day and will give a round up in the next week or so. I'll be getting my hair dyed darker and a spray tan for the event and I'll be sure to post a pic so you can see the finished look!

Stay tuned for lots of pre-graduation rambles...
Penny xx

Lips to die for

So in my attempt to be a bit scary this Halloween I decided to opt for a cheap and easy option - Wear nice clothes but vamp up the makeup.

Although it's lazy you still get to look a bit nice on halloween! So I was on the look out for a dark purple, almost black lipstick and was expecting to have to turn over a few stones to find one. I was surprised when purple seemed to be the no.1 colour this month with offerings from Mac, Revlon and many more. Sticking with the earlier criteria of cheap I chose to go with Kate Moss' Lipstick from Rimmel, and got sucked in at the counter and also bought a dark berry - for blogging purposes of course.

The Kate Collection from Rimmel

If you're looking for an affordable but amazing lipstick then I recommend Kate's collection. The limited edition lipsticks are the iconic lasting finish lips, but with a slight glossy finish. It has long lasting power and gives really great colour and is a great price at £5.49.  With seven colours to choose from you're guaranteed to find one to match your complexion, and outfit! I opted for no.4 which is a grape colour, and amazingly smells like Grape too. The purple is gorgeous and I will definitely be wearing it long after Halloween! Available from the usual Boots or Superdrug, picks yours up at lunch tomorrow!

Mwah! xx

Catwalk by Tigi - I'm in Love

When I'm usually wandering around town on the weekend the two things I look at when I see a girl, is how has she done her make-up and what is her hair like - And then I usually take inspiration from them and try to recreate the look on myself. This might seem weird to some but I think it's a little thing that most girls do and it's how trends start.

I have been dying to recreate Blake Lively's hair for quite some time but have never quite got there! I'm very lucky to have thick hair, and lots of it. It has potential to be quite versatile but I only ever seem to have one style (I call it messy chic but I actually just don't brush my hair).

I love Blake's hair because it looks like there's no effort been spared to look that amazing, but you are fully aware she has some amazing stylists behind her. So I thought I'd put a bit of effort in to try and find the products to use to recreate her style. I've never been one to like a lot of products in my hair because I felt my hair looked weighed down and greasy, but now I think it's just a case of getting the right products for your hair.

The products that changed my mind were the gorgeous products from Catwalk by Tigi. The exact products that were used in Chris Benz's show at NYFW to create a glamourous look with a slightly trashy and imperfect twist - a style dream for me.

Chris Benz asked the Tigi Creative team to bring to life mugshots, and almost wig-like hair. Nick Irwin, Creative Stylist, did just this using Catwalk by Tigi Session Series Dry Shampoo and Work It Hairspray. After using the products myself to recreate the look I am extremely impressed with the quality of the product. To be honest though I didn't expect much less from Tigi.

The Dry Shampoo has a very light texture so your hair doesn't feel heavy at the roots, and it doesn't leave that tell-tale grey/white mark around your roots that most dry shampoos do. The hairspray has amazing holding power that stays put for the day, and doesn't leave your hair feeling dry and crunchy. Although I wouldn't walk round town with hair like off the catwalks, as above, the products allow you to create the same texture and style but more subtlety - Hello Blake Lively. The products are available from selected salons, and prices start at £11.50.

  

Saturday Round-Up!

As I've been a bit lapse with my blogging lately I thought I'd do a quick round-up of my latest and greatest beauty products that I'm loving.

First up, Benefit POWda WOWza (£19.50). This limited edition is the ultimate Benefit product for me, it has Hoola, Coralista and Bella Bamba all in one convenient box with a little brush for ease. I'm a die-hard fan of Hoola and have been wanting to try CORALista and Bella Bamba for ages. The CORALista gives a really subtle glow making you look like you've just returned from a Hawaiian retreat.

Bella Bamba gives you gorgeous girly pink flushed checks with a bit of sparkle for added glamour. The pack is small enough to take everywhere so there's really no excuse for non-stop glamour. I love it!

I've also recently suffered with the disgusting Conjunctivitus so I ran to Boots to buy the cheapest Mascara so I could use it on my Friday night and bin it after guilt free. I picked up Boots own brand 17 Photo Flawless Mascara (5.99) thinking 'it will do' and I was really surprised with the amazing eye lashes it gave me!

It has specks of gold in it so it makes your eyes sparkle, and the spooned brush gives your lashes incredible length. It has good lasting power, although the only negative is that you do get the dark patched under your eyes at the end of a long day, something which you wouldn't get with a high-end product. But for £5.99 this mascara is excellent. I bought another after my spout of Conjunctivitus and it takes pride of place in my make-up bag at the moment.

Barry M - Crackle Effect

Now I know I'm slightly behind the times with this one as the crackle effect nails has been around for ages, but I only felt it necessary to try it on an impulse buy on my lunch hour the other day.

It's all about the metallics this season so when I saw a gold sparkle crackle effect from Barry M I thought I would try the popular nail polishes. I have to say though I'm really not impressed with it. It's clever how it crackles as you watch it dry but I just think the effect looks tacky and really quite rubbish!

I'm sorry Barry M because I am a huge fan of your stuff normally,your  lipsticks are amazing. But the crackle nail effect doesn't get my seal of approval.

Gelac disaster

I've always thought that nails are quite an important part of a woman's appearance - the look of your nails can tell what type of person you are! During my early years at university I started getting acrylic nail extensions, which at the time I thought were amazing. They gave me the constant feeling of glamour and made me feel so much more feminine. Saying that, when they started chipping and peeling they looked hideous and took a lot of money to maintain - clearly not a great choice being a student. So I decided to go au naturel and try to look after my own nails by using vitamin e creams and getting all the potions necessary to have great nails.

I soon got bored of this and having heard recently about Gelac nails I decided to give them a go. Biggest mistake ever. The process of putting them on is ok, the gel dries pretty quickly so you can do things after that you can't normally do after normal nail varnish. Also, the nails did look very glam when they were first finished. I opted for a french manicure so it would go with every outfit, under the impression that it should last for up to 14 days.

I was very much misinformed. My nails started chipping after the first couple days and looked so horrible after about 4 days that I had to take them all off. When I decided to get Gelac I was also told that your nails underneath would be strengthened - however when I took mine off (properly) my nails were very weak and peeling underneath! I'm now back to square one with my natural nails, trying to strengthen them again, and more than likely going to weaken them with my next great beauty idea!

So if you want my advice ladies stay away from Gelac. Shellac is the same idea but may be more conditioning for your nails and have longer lasting power. I may have to try and let you know!

My rating for Gelac: 2/10 - Looked great to begin with but peeled too quickly and left my nails weakened underneath.

Under-eye bags be GONE!

Three days into the new job and I'm loving it! The role is perfect, the people are lovely and the beauty products are amazing. More updates to come once I've tried and tested the products! Recently, I've been on a mission to find an under-eye concealer that conceals and illuminates for a reasonable price.

Usually, I'm a devotee of YSL Touche Eclat. It captures the light and banishes those pesky tired and dark eyes. It really is an amazing product. But at £24 it's a bit out of my price range at the moment which upsets me...very much.

So I have been on the hunt for an under-eye concealer that doesn't make the sensitive skin around my eyes dry out. It has been an effort let me tell you! As I've said before I'm a beauty snob and prefer to buy high-end products but recently my bank hasn't been too pleased with my spending so I am trying cheaper options.

My mission was proving to be difficult as many of the cheaper brands were very heavy under my eyes (even with a light layer) and made them look even darker. As my last attempt I tried Collection 2000 as the name of the product caught my eye. Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch is a lovely product to use and I highly recommend it. At £4.99 it's a bargain and offers four shades to choose from (my colour is no.3 Glow).

The light product really does brighten up your eyes and stays put for most of the day. I'll admit that it doesn't equal the quality of YSL but for its price it is definitely amazing! I really do recommend it for people that don't want to pay for the higher end products. The soft brush makes the application of it very therapeutic and you look glowing for your commute to work! It can also be used to brighten up the complexion by applying it to the forehead, the bridge of your nose and the top of your lip to create a beautiful cupids bow. Go GLOW!

Easy to apply, good staying power, great coverage - 9/10.